Nursing

Staff Safety. Dr Michael Davidson

janiegarner

Do you remember him? He was a physician at the prestigious Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  A deceased patient’s son shot him to death.

At the hospital.

William Gross
Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross, center left, walks through a revolving door as he departs the Shapiro building at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015 in Boston. A person was critically shot at the hospital Tuesday and a suspect was in custody, Boston police said. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Today, the staff celebrated his life.  It’s too bad they weren’t celebrating the great care he was still giving to patients.  😦

Dr Davidson was the father of four girls, who will never have their dad again, because some complete psychopath thought it was ok to shoot their healthcare provider because they didn’t get the outcome they hoped for. 

Dr Davidson was the same age as me.  

Here’s a quote about him from a colleague:

I can’t begin to tell you what a shocking tragedy this is. Michael was 44 years old, a rising star in cardiac surgery. One of his focuses was patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) so he worked very closely with us medical cardiologists. He was known for his love and devotion to patients. He was also known outside of the work he did in TAVR, for tackling the toughest cases, the types of surgeries that other cardiac surgeons would decline because the odds were against the patient.

 

So, he was a patient advocate, talented, brilliant, and murdered.

Do you think this couldn’t happen to you?

Your hospital might be one of the facilities who forbids you to call the police when you are assaulted.  

Do they think that is helpful? 

Patients already often think they can do anything to us.

Ask your hospital what their long term plans are to keep you safe.  You might be completely unsurprised by the answer.

They don’t have any plans.

You know when I started feeling safe? When I went to work for the VA. Because they have an armed police force on site.  They do not put up with nonsense.

But that would be expen$ive.

 

Love,

Janie

 

6 thoughts on “Staff Safety. Dr Michael Davidson”

  1. Our hospital actually has a metal detector and our security wands everyone before the come into our er for this very reason! Makes me feel much safer

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  2. Hey Janie,again right on point. The other problem I see is that it would be politically incorrect to have armed security. No one wants to let the public know that the staff at a healthcare facility are at risk. In order to fix a problem they have to shine a light on it

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  3. Janie, your spot on as usual. 🙂
    I work at a university but we are off campus. We are mandated to call university police first to “handle” a situation but even on a good traffic day, they still take 5-10 minutes to get to us! That’s a long time when you need help!! WE have no protection and are often left to our own defenses. Providers hear yelling and walk the other direction. Managers chastise us because the patient is always right and why didn’t we just give them what they wanted. NO security at night to walk us to the parking lot or even security cameras to caught an act on film!! It amazes me that we are to deal with all of this and cant ask to be protected. When will WE matter? When will our lives be as important as the patients?

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    1. We matter, Tristan. We have to be united and protect each other. We have to make sure that healthcare organizations understand that if you don’t value us you cannot do business.

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      1. This reminds me of a situation several years ago. Pt well known to our women’s health clinic/ had been verbally abusive to staff on numerous occasions. She called our dept just as we were closing after a Friday from he__ and yours truly got the call. She started off speaking in an aggressive tone about a request she had made and were documented on 6 times over the past month. When I could get her to listen, I reiterated what I and other nurses had instructed her previously. She became crazy with anger/ told me she had a gun and knew me and wasn’t afraid to use it. She saicalled me profane names. Giant psycho!! Contacted my manager and insisted on calling security (no guns security). I requested police (the guns kind). But security took my statement and manager and officer agreed pt was to be no more serviced. I was assured no neef to call police as she would not be allowed on our property. I was relieved only to return for my next shift the following week to find pt was seen on my day off. She was “counseled” regarding her aggressive behaviors, anger and profane language per my manager. (Per DON instructs,) I immediately filed report with HR and stated I would never again be dissuaded from contacting REAL police. You are absolutely correct- they will only act after the fact because we DO NOT matter.
        Thanks again Janie for calling a spade a spade.

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